Centre considering 498a made bailable and compoundable, so husbands can be killed slowly

It’s a short news: but the way the news starts off shows how much hopes and aspirations people of India these days have from PM Narendra Modi. I mean the news starts off with “Narendra Modi government…” and not “Central government …”. Anyway… the end result will be the same, it’s just giving hopium to masses.

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government is examining ways to stem misuse of anti-dowry laws. The home ministry is planning to tweak the controversial Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code to prevent its blatant misuse. A new section is likely to be inserted to make offences under it compoundable with the court’s permission, which will allow an accused to escape jail by paying a fine.

The MHA has received feedback from state governments in favour of changes, and it is likely to circulate a draft bill soon for inter-ministerial consultation. At present, under Section 498A IPC, dowry offences are cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, where the petitioner cannot withdraw a case. It has no provision for out-of-court settlements.

After consulting states, the MHA plans to make offences compoundable, sources said. The permission of the court will be a safeguard against attempts where a wife may be coerced into a compromise with her husband and in-laws. The move to tweak the tough provisions of Section 498A first began in 2012 when the Law Commission advised that the offence be made compoundable. “It has taken the MHA two years to get the views of the states, a majority of which are in favour of changes,” a top official said.

The SC in July had criticised misuse of the law, and directed to instruct that the police not make automatic arrests under it.

The home ministry is planning to tweak the controversial Section 498A IPC to prevent its blatant misuse.

Under this Section, dowry offences are cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, where the petitioner cannot withdraw.

Let’s see the much touted benefits given by “law misuse folks” in favour of 498a being bailable and compoundable:

Fear of arbitrary and automatic arrest will disappear because accused can apply for bail since it’s a bailable offence.

Some men believe that wife is filing cases under pressure from parents and that is undeniable fact in 99.9999% of cases. So they think there is some chance she can re-discover what a catch her husband is, and withdraw the 498a case and live happily ever after.

About point 1, that is a correct conclusion.

About point 2, this is a dream which will always remain a dream. For the reality is that if a wife even so much as calls up the police station or talks verbally to some NGO or files a complaint to CAW cell, or files a maintenance case, that marriage will break and it’s just a matter of time. The law of mother’s-wish-over-husband rules in feminist families and mostly the 498a cases are filed by daughters brought up in feminist and matriarchal kind of families. So whether IPC 498a is made compoundable or not is not going to make an iota of difference to how the self-loathing folks want to run their lives. They couldn’t care less how the word compoundable is spelled… the important thing for them is husband should be under their thumbs.

And what are the benefits if any of 498a staying the way it is, i.e., non-compoundable and non-bailable.

1. Wife can’t file 498a and then ask to come back. I mean they can and several of them do, but it makes a clean break and creates clear picture in minds of everyone of what kind of threat such women pose to a sane and peace loving person. Else the parents and relatives of husband will always keep putting pressure on him to adjust, compromise, bring wife back, and what else.

2. Like above, the only benefit of non-bailable can be that the fear of nuke option that is 498a creates some clarity in your folks that the line is crossed and there is no going back now. Else husbands will be kept hanging like Trishanku in the middle. Be charged with a crime and yet try to be a loving husband at the same time! What kind of nonsense is that?

I have got married 1.5years ago we are 4 members in my family my parents and both of us, since after a month my wife start creating problems by different ways she want separation from my parents as I am the only son of them no one is there to look after them, her family is also supporting her and threatening to file 498A and she uses very vulger language to me and my parents her family also uses very disrespectful​ words to my parents.
Lately I got to know she used to be mentally depressed earlier and going through a neurological treatment for 3years before marriage for her mental situation as she used to become violent,her family kept the things hidden at the time of marriage.
I and my family is in a problem that if she commit suicide or does any harm to herself.
I tried to make her understand so many times by different ways but she only follows her family.
During this 1.5years I have informed her family several times whenever she behaves abnormally but either they don’t respond or start yelling on us that we are torturing her.
She is still using the same medication for mental treatment which she has become addicted to and sleep for 3-4days.

I want Divorce but they are saying that you are married to her you have to stay with her or we will file mental torture and dowry case against you

This situation of some mental/psychological issue of wife is a common thing being heard these days, and many husbands do their best to get the wife get proper treatment, however it is seen that wife/in-laws are more interested in blaming husband rather than getting the treatment, so go figure. Sometimes I even have a doubt if the illness is real or it’s a drama being staged.

You can’t get rid of ‘this problem’, unless our marriage/divorce laws are changed to make this kind of hiding of facts before marriage a serious crime or something of that sort is added to Hindu Marriage Act to file for annulment (it already has provision for fraud). Even then, whether that law will get applied against women easily is a debatable point.

Further if you suspect (serious) fraud in marriage then the right time to file before one year of marriage for annulment. Now you can only file for divorce and our courts will actually look down on someone not willing to support wife through her medical/psychological issues, so basically a trap was laid. Your best bet is to have evidence of cruelty.

SIR SUGGEST ME THE WAY WHERE I SHOULD GET JUSICE,COZ MY WIFE FILED 498A AGAINST ME AND 5 OTHERS MOTHER, FATHER, BROTHER AND HIS WIFE AND ALSO MY SISTER WHO GOT MARRIED 17 YEARS AGO.I AM FROM A SMALL VILLAGE CALLED PHIRANGIPURAM NEAR BY A CITY GUNTUR IN ANDHRAPRADESH.SHE WAS FROM HYDERABAD. I GOT MARRIED AT 32 ON 13-08-2014. AT THE TIME SHE WAS 22 ITHINK.SHE WAS NOT JOINED ME FOR MARRITAL LIFE AFTER GETTING MARRIED.DECEMBER 2014 SHE CAME TO JOIN WITH ME, I AM VERY MUCH HARRASED BY MY WIFE AND HER PARENTS(WHOLE FAMILY) ALSO FOR A PERIOD OF 60 DAYS{LESS OR = TO 2 MONTHS} SHE WENTAWAY ON 08-02-2015 WITH HER FATHER AND ELDER FATHER ALONG WITH ALL HER BELONGINGS LIKE CLOTHES NOT ONLY THE GOLD AURNAMENTS WHICH I HAD MADE FOR HER BUT ALSO THE WEDDING SARRES{NEARLY A SUM OF 350000/-}.eventhough it all happened i cant find the attitude of those family members.after that there was some meetings held in aug2015,sep2015,and they failed, after that phone discussions oct2015 also failed.finally 13dec2015 and 14dec2015 her father came to my village with 14 to 15 members.and they blackmailed me of giving money 1,50,000,00{1.5 crores} oterwise i crore. i said i hav not enogh money to give to u, i will approach the honble court.after that she complaint on me at wps dd,ccs hyderabad on 20-12-2015, and they called me for counsilling 22-12-2015, on that day consiling madem taken a written statement from both of us.11-01-2016 on the 2nd counsilling date, my wife filed 498a, the police said all your family members should come here to take stationbail.as per that 4 among 6 accesed got bailed. sir this is the status of my case.after passing 4 months the police has not failed charge sheet even i told them i wiil approach the honble court, they suggested me to settle. now plz give the directions how i got relief from policestaion and approach the honble court.

Generally CS time limit is 90 days, but very common for it to be delayed…

Generally it’s complainant’s problem that police is slow on the case. If police is harassing you in any way, you can complain to senior police, or if severe human rights violation; then to SHRC. But you should forget the idea that things can be speeded up and your case can be finished before others’

I am not sure you are giving complete and truthful information, hence any reply will deviate from its intended goal. Contact a good divorce lawyer, DONT BE IN A HURRY, DONT PANIC, DONT TRY TO GO SETTLEMENT FROM A WEAK STANDING POINT. Remember its not the marriage, its that someone has found you to be weak, and thought that you do not deserve any wealth or property you got, hence they have taken it upon themselves to rectify this anomaly done by the lord himself.

Your comment was received by email on 14th May and I replied the same day. Maybe you should check your email carefully before lashing out at volunteers who run this site. If you are not happy with the answer, you can seek elsewhere of course.

According to this logic, we can create 20 more IPC sections to be used at will by women against men, and there is absolutely no problem as long as each such law is made bailable and compoundable!

The IPC 498a is a very bad law, it has to be abolished. That’s the solution ultimately. Right now government is giving bait to Indian men because the govt knows most men don’t want fight their wives, but the feminist/matriarchal wives you are dealing with have only one mission in mind which is your slavery; so one can live in the past or wake up to the changing reality.

Slow but steady dilution of draconian 498A would lead to remove the menace for the most part.
Please do not oppose these dilution processes unless you have vested interest in crores of settlement money.
The great Settlement Business should be BANNED. Every menace is done for money. thats it.